The Houthis have released the crew of the vessel they seized in 2023.

According to a statement from the group, 25 crew members of the vessel were released with the mediation of Oman. Among them are citizens from Ukraine, the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, and Mexico.

The Houthis seized the cargo ship in the Red Sea shortly after announcing their intention to capture or sink vessels linked to Israel, which was conducting operations against the Hamas group (designated as a terrorist organization in the U.S. and EU) in the Gaza Strip. They claimed that the "Galaxy Leader," which sails under the flag of the Bahamas, is connected to Israeli billionaire Abraham Ungar. The ship was captured by the Houthis following a helicopter raid and has been held by them ever since.

In total, around a hundred commercial vessels have been targeted by the Houthis off the coast of Yemen. Major global shipping companies have been forced to alter the routes of their vessels. On Monday, the Houthis announced that they might limit their attacks to target only Israeli ships, following a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

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